Britain's track cyclists ended the first day of the Sydney World Cup without a medal, an outcome that Dave Brailsford, the performance director, put down to the opening of the winter season being like the "first day back at school".

Victoria Pendleton, the triple world champion, was second in qualifying for the individual sprint and advanced smoothly to the quarter-final, only to be knocked out by the World Cup holder, Natallia Tsylinskaya of Belarus.

Another world champion, Chris Hoy, partnered Jason Kenny and Matt Crampton to fourth in the team sprint, the first time in eight years that Hoy has competed in this event at a World Cup meeting and failed to win a medal.

In the race for bronze, the British trio narrowly missed out to a French squad that included Hoy's old rival, Arnaud Tournant. "I'm happy enough with that," said Hoy, who was in the unfamiliar position of second man - usually he anchors the team. "It's a long time until [the Beijing Olympics in] August."

Brailsford was similarly upbeat, and greatly encouraged by the performance of what he described as "two-thirds of our 2012 team" in the team sprint. "Chris Hoy is the only established rider we had in there," he said, "and I didn't expect them to make it into the bronze medal ride. Jason and Matt are 2012 athletes, to be truthful, but they beat the top German team and a Dutch team with [multiple world champion] Theo Bos."

Brailsford added that next week's second World Cup, in Beijing, would provide a more accurate reflection of the team's standing. "We'll have our A-team together, with Jason Queally, Jamie Staff and Craig MacLean all coming, and Hoy back in his favourite position as last man."

Pendleton's performance mirrored the first World Cup of last season, in Moscow, in which she was also eliminated in the quarter-finals. "She qualified well," said Brailsford, "but it's like the first day back at school. She has the ability, as we saw in qualifying, but she just hasn't switched back on to racing yet. But I have no worries about her at all. It's just a question of switching on."

Wendy Houvenaghel went close to a medal in the women's 3,000m pursuit. She qualified fourth and, in the bronze ride-off, lost out to Karin Thurig of Switzerland by only four-tenths of a second. In the men's event, over 4,000m, Steve Cummings qualified fifth, and in the men's points race, the former world champion Chris Newton managed a solid sixth.